Colour Me Positive – Week 2

You all are amazing, the way you have embraced this challenge. I am totally blown away with the amount of people who have leaped in to our first week with such enthusiasm. There has been some incredible artwork shared and some beautiful heartfelt sentiments around gratitude.

A special thank you to our first time art journalers, you have shown such wonderful courage posting your photos for us all to see in the Facebook group and I’m so very proud of you all. It is also incredibly uplifting to see the rest of you commenting, supporting and encouraging one another. Please keep it up so we can keep this beautiful energy going.

This group has grown to be so much more than I ever expecting and it is a joy every day to know you are all there.

Today we have a fabulous featured artist called Kaz Pidgeon so make sure you read all the way through to find out more about Kaz and the prize she has donated for the weekly challenge.

Our week 2 quote is encouraging you to BE BRAVE. The first weeks of January usually gets people thinking about their goals and what they want to achieve throughout the coming year. I know my head is full of some big scary goals for this year but I’ve learnt that it’s not enough to just write them down and hope for the best. I know that first I have to take a brave leap to get started, then work on it in smaller chunks, day by day until it is achieved. Your ducks don’t have to be in a row first! Don’t procrastinate by telling yourself that conditions have to be perfect before you start. Just take that first step. Be brave!! You can do it. You really can.

Here is our Week 2 quote:

Our extra (optional) journal prompt is:

Use a silhouette somewhere in your work.

If you need a reminder how the challenge works go have another look at the Intro page.

Kaz Pidgeon is a funky Silversmith Artist from Beerwah, Qld, Australia. She sells her gorgeous inspiring jewellery through her Facebook page and her Etsy store. Kaz has some beautiful thoughts on bravery so read on to see what she has to say.

What is your favourite inspirational quote?

Right now, it would have to be the catch phrase ‘BE BRAVE’. For me, these two simple words mean so much. I read this quote scribbled on a wall somewhere maybe 15 yrs ago, it went something like this…

Say how you feel
Leave the job you hate
Find your passion
Love with every ounce of your bones
Stand up for things that matter
Don’t settle
Don’t apologise for who you are
BE BRAVE

Since my early 20’s I have occasionally needed to to be really brave (and I’m not talking sky diving or walking naked on a crowded beach 🙂 ) Some of the hardest things I have done in my life have been borne from being brave, yet they turned out to be the best thing I could have done for myself in the long run.

So I chose to embrace the short and sweet version of the quote and stamp in onto some of my pieces… wow, I was overwhelmed with orders from women in all walks of life, old and young… so it got me thinking that many of you amazing women out there must be embracing the act of being brave, for what ever your reasons .. to those of you, I send you my encouragement and my love.

What inspires you?

Firstly and this is such a cliché, but Mother Nature, for her extraordinary beauty that is found everywhere. From the simplest drop of water on a leaf to the soaring vista of the Himalaya, it makes my heart sing and my soul smile.

Secondly, it’s people who inspire me the most. I am drawn to the stories of brave and resilient people, especially women from all walks of life who have had to muster all their inner strength and just keep going. Whether it be a small issue that needs addressing or terrible crisis that is beyond comprehension, I know women can be braver than they ever give themselves credit for. For me braveness is a matter of the heart so just take a deep breath and BE BRAVE 🙂

Kaz from Birdsong Silver has made this gorgeous pendant to give away as this weeks prize draw! So to be in this weeks draw make sure that you load your photo of your Week 2 challenge into the relevant album in the Facebook page.

We will draw a random name on Friday 22nd January from those who have uploaded into the Week 2 folder by that date.

Entry is open to everyone who participates, no matter where in the world you are. We have some fabulous prizes over the weeks so make sure you’re loading your photos up to be included in the draw. It’s not a game of skill, you won’t be judged on your artwork. It will be a random draw.

A Discount for my Australian Customers

All you lovely Australians that are participating in the challenge are entitled to a 5% discount whenever you make a purchase from our Lulu Art store anytime throughout the year. All you need to do is enter in the following coupon code in when you check out – CMP2016

Please remember:

If you want to be in the draw for our weekly prize please make sure you load the photo into the relevant weeks album on our Facebook page. This also keeps them all in one place for easy viewing and commenting. If you’re not sure how to load into an album then have a look in our Files where there is a document that explains it.

It’s ok to skip a week and jump in wherever you can. Don’t feel pressured if life gets busy!

Don’t compare yourself to others. We’re all in different stages of our art journey. You’re an artist and you’re amazing no matter what level you’re at. Just have fun and keep going.

Please PM or email me if you have an urgent question as I’m more likely to see it. The facebook page moves so fast it’s so easy to miss comments.

Great prompt. I actually used the word bravery for another journaling group I joined to go with my word of the year USE. as in USE BRAVERY, in my quest for success, and fulfillment. This will be such fun .

I have MS and it makes me brave some days and somedays I just lose it. Having taught at a major university to disability has been a hard job. But learning to paint has really helped. I think this artist might like a company called “bravelets”. Being brave with Almost every disease.

I love the charm. It will be fun to paint this though I am not sure about a silhouette even if black makes us thin.

I have ME/CFS, and think that any illness where you have pain almost everyday, you need to be brave to keep going….every one of us has a diffrent cross to cary. take the next step…I have been painting and selling work for 20 years and this year I am going to be brave and do no marketing or try to sell any thing, if it hapens it is ok, but I realy just want to paint for me…nobody els needs to like it, it is going to take a mind shift but I am going to be brave and give it a go.

Couldn’t be more apt for me. .. have been just existing for the last couple of years especially after my 24 yr old daughter decided she didn’t want me in her life .. have put on weight and struggled with feeling any self worth ..BUT I have just enrolled in Diploma of Specialist Makeup ..had been procrastinating until yesterday and obviously joined CMP .. so this year I am taking the plunge into the unknown.. I am ready to find the color for my wings 😊